Is it Really a New Year?

Here we are almost in the middle of the new year, 2017. Now ask yourself, how much of 2017 is new and how much is the same old stuff (being polite) from 2016?
There's a new POTUS. That's for sure!
But what else is new?

For our businesses, Dalmatian Productions, Inc. and Cause & Origin, LLC, the first ten days of 2017 have been pretty good. Not super, not awesome, but pretty good. If you're a regular follower of this blog (and we don't know if you are, since no one ever signs in below to follow the blog), it's been quite a while since we've had any good news about our new TV show about the fire service, "CAUSE & ORIGIN." Thankfully, we do have some nice news to share....but I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself.

First things first: Our podcast, "5-Alarm Task Force," had a very successful launch! Between November and December, we had four excellent shows. Excellent? Am I calling them excellent? Yes, because we had five excellent guests who brought their "A-game" to their discussions.

We started with Capt. Joe DeVito (@joed911). Joe leads his troops for the FT. Myers Beach Fire Control District and his topic dealt with our attitudes; towards the job, the department, etc. I must add that Capt. Joe had been a friend and mentor since we joined Twitter and he was one of those who pushed me to consider doing a podcast. Thanks, Cap!

We were next joined by Lt. Grant Schwalbe who is with Estero Fire Rescue. He discussed two areas. The first deals with primary search; a step-by-step thought process with your search. Grant, along with his partner Paul Capo, have a company and website, "When Bad Things Happen." In it, they teach how to prevent those bad things and, if necessary, what to do when they happen. The "First & Ten" topic is about your requisite actions to perform in those first ten minutes.

Our next podcast featured Dan Kerrigan (@DanKerrigan) and Jim Moss (@JimMoss), two officers who are fully dedicated to firefighter fitness. Most of us are sick and tired of seeing anywhere between 40%-60% of LODD's being attributed to preventable health issues. Call the following a phrase or a motto, whatever, because it rings so true:

"We must not simply survive the fireground, we must be able to THRIVE on the fireground. It all starts with a foundation of functional fitness."

In the fourth show we were joined by Chief Dennis Rubin. Chief Rubin is well-known as one of the foremost instructors in the fire service. In this show, the Chief discussed the topic of leadership; from the snot-nosed, belly-crawling, nozzle-jockey (Editor's phrase) up the ranks to the Chief. Each of us has the seed of leadership in us. However, it's up to each of us to decided what we are going to do with that seed.

As you can see, it was a terrific start to our new idea. And we already have over a dozen new guests already booked for the new year. So keep your eye out for updates on Twitter or on our podcast site, http://bit.ly/5-AlarmTFPodcast.

"And now, to the rest of our story..."

January has indeed been supportive of our project. Just two weeks ago, we re-submitted our story to the Philadelphia Office of Film & Television. There had been a change in the leadership of the Philadelphia Fire Department and we wanted to make an attempt to gain  their support. Both the director of the Film & TV Office, re-read our work and fell in love with it all over again. She took the liberty of sending it to a good friend who is not only a well known television producer, but also, a Philadelphia native. He answered her email quickly in a positive manner and told her that he was giving to his "team" to look at it.

Subsequently, we also send copies of the synopsis and script to the new commissioner of fire and the deputy commissioner. This week, we received positive comments from them. Why is this important? We've learned that when you want to make a "pitch" in Hollywood, whether for TV or film, the more detail you can provide, the better your chances are. Thus, we are able to provide a synopsis, a fully written script for the pilot episode and the fact that the locale where the story is to be based, is already "on board" with the project.

Finally, yesterday I receive an email and follow-up phone call from our partner who lives and works in Los Angeles. At the time of his email, he had just sent two excellent contacts over to another well-known television and motion picture producer, who was looking for a script for a network. That's good, right? Then when we called me, he advised that he just had another contact bring our material to another well known television actor and producer, who is also looking for a script.

Are we set? Are we in the money? No! Not by a long shot. However, these three opportunities are ones we have never been able to find before. We have tried and tried. Most people would have given up and let the dinghy sink. Not us. Of the four of us, we have all been or still are, first responders, most with the fire service. And that is why it is so important to us.

We'll keep you posted if and when there are new details. And we thank you for your interest and support.

Stay safe and let's make sure everyone goes home!

WHERE IS OUR "TELEVISION" PRESENCE?

Where is it? Where can we find our presence that we are proud of? 
Where is our presence that we enjoy, both for its entertainment & educational values?
Oh, you mean that one show on that one network? IS that one that you would sit and watch with your kids?

CAVEAT: What I am about to say has no negative meaning or tone to our comrades who are LEO's. Please understand that.

Now, use your "TV Guide Magazine," use the guide on your satellite or cable menu, and count how many "police shows" are on American TV. Whether it's the police in a city, sheriffs in a county, state police in cold climates, wardens in woods and lakes of our beautiful country; they all deal with one form or another of law enforcement. Oh, there are more to come. Coming this week on Animal Planet will be, "Lone Star Law."

There are nearly 1.1 million firefighters in this country; active. And what about those of us who are retired or disabled? Add in spouse, children, extended family, close friends, all of whom who know that you are, or were a firefighter. You risk your life every single day that you are/were on shift or on call. You never were a "no-show" when contract negotiations broke down; no one has ever heard the term, "Red-Flu," when firefighters wouldn't show up for duty because those negotiations collapsed. You were always there. Moreover, even when you're off-duty, you will always respond to an emergency or any place where your skill, knowledge and yes, perhaps, bravery, are needed.

So, how many TV shows demonstrate those facts to the viewing public.

Yes, I'm venting! For over at least one decade, there were no shows about the fire service. OK, several years ago, the Chicago show appeared. However, I can count on one hand the number of fire, rescue and EMS people, who like it and feels it reflects positively on what we do.

Listen, when the Devil wants to "dance," he doesn't care whether you're a career firefighter, a volunteer or you work on-call. He doesn't care if your a male or a female. He doesn't care if you live alone or have a wonderful family. We step up and dance. Most of the time, we beat him. Sometimes,we lose.

With all that, how do you think the average firefighter is viewed by the public? Think of this:
1. We had a big house fire; we rescued the family, saved most of the house. ->Heroes
2. We had a huge brush fire; hundreds of us responded and pounded and cut aware through thick forest and brush, working 18 hours a day. ->Heroes
3. We responded to a call of a soft mewing sound from a drainage pipe. We responded and spent 3 hours to rescue a little kitten who had wandered away. ->Heroes
 4. At our bi-annual meeting with the city's Human Resources to discuss our next contract, we ask for a 1.2% pay increase and an additional 2% increase in the retirement account. ->LOSERS & TROUBLEMAKERS
5. At a meeting with the villages Fire Commission, we explain that our 1989 engine has become a money pit. It's old, breaks down often, and has a bad pump. It's time we replace it with a new and technologically advanced unit, to help us perform our most important job - saving lives! ->LOSERS AND TROUBLEMAKERS
6. The newspaper writes an editorial stating that we have one of the "cushiest" and easiest jobs in the country. We're paid to sit on our asses and wait for the bells to ring. We're paid to sleep on an overnight sleep, and most of the time, we knock off a full eight hours, because there are no calls. We always have our hand out for more of something. No, we don't mean when you have your "Fill the Boot" campaign for MD. We mean you firefighters are always asking for more money, when you're overpaid already. Add your extra shifts, overtime, etc. and you folks earn much more than people who work much harder than you do!

Yes, all three examples in numbers 4, 5, & 6 are true in some form. However, how aware of those views were you. Right after the horror, trauma and tragedy of 9|11, we were heroes. Yet, just a few months later, when our FDNY brothers tried to get better medical care for those suffering severe respiratory problems and PTSD, we were castigated for always asking for more. I personally saw in various publication, accusations to the effect of, "We just knew that the firefighters would use this disaster to get more for themselves."

Why? Why does the public think this way? Why? For the same reason that your six-year-old is not scheduled to perform brain surgery tomorrow morning. The answer is EDUCATION! Take the great idea of "Firefighting 101" classes that more departments are trying to promote. Bring the politicians and news reporters, dress them in our turnout gear and put them through the ringer. When they emerge, sweaty, with soot covered faces, they suddenly have a new view of our jobs.

All of the above will be integrated into our show, "CAUSE & ORIGIN." Our show is about a real, big-city fire department, not from a small, "Mayberry-type" village. Our show deals with many of the most important issues that many of us face every day, from the moment you show up as the new "probie," to trying to get accepted into this houses tight group. We deal with the stresses of our lives; not just the calls we respond to or the training we have each shift, we deal with the family crisis, a family that no longer can live like the "perfect" American life, where Daddy goes to work and Mommy takes care of the kids. Today, many of us work two, sometimes three jobs. Our spouses or significant others work at least one full-time job and often wind up picking up an additional part-time job to help keep the home on an even keel.We'll also deal with the problems of attrition and retention. Oh, and don't forget how some of the "youngsters" of this "ME"-society we now live in, just starting out, and who don't share the same work ethic. 

So, what does it boil down to? We need your voices. That's all we're asking for. Your voice. 
Start your own email campaign writing to the networks that you're tired of all the law enforcement shows, you want to see a show about firefighting.

You can write a comment here and say, "Thank you, guys. You're right!"
You can send us an email at info@dalmatianproductions.tv and we'll add that to our portfolio to show at our meetings with TV execs. 

Can you imagine us walking into one of these meetings with over 500,000 emails, comments etc.? They'd be flabbergasted. Let's do it!

We don't mind being the leaders here. We'll be the cheerleaders to! Just speak up. 

Stay Safe - Make sure everyone goes home!

Podcast coming this week!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

New Endeavors - New Changes - Whe

BULLETIN...BULLETIN....

READ IT ALL ABOUT IT!!

New autobiographical firefighting book is released on Amazon-Kindle!!

 

If you've been wondering where we've been, this little picture above will tell you the first part of the story. I am very happy to announce the publishing of my first book, "Fish Out of Water - 2 Jewish Guys in a Deep South Firehouse." It is available on Amazon's Kindle format at http://preview.tinyurl.com/NCFirefighting.

 

A lot of people will not realize that there truly is a juxtaposition of the words, "Jewish," and "firefighting." Why? Because not too many of us enter this amazing profession as a career or even as a volunteer. And why is that? Back in my day it was because most Jewish parents want to see their children grow up to be doctors, lawyers, dentists, surgeons, CPA's etc. In all my years of synagogue work, not once did I ever hear a parent tell me that their son or daughter was joining a volunteer fire department or the local rescue squad.

 

However, I was different. I set my own path when the opportunity presented itself and joined a combination fire department just outside Greensboro NC and a couple of years later, accepted a paid position with Guilford County EMS.

 

I won't bother you with the why's and how's here. It's all spelled out in the book. More importantly, this decision afforded me to meet another Jewish young man who is still my best friend, these nearly forty years later.

 

There are plenty of great stories, exciting calls and more. From basic training to high-level rescue, from firehouse pranks to extremely serious calls, I've included it all. So please, pick up a copy and feel free to le me know what you thought of it.

And now back to our show...

 

I'm glad to let you know that we are once again making forward progress on our show, "Cause & Origin." Our Los Angeles-based partner has secured a new agent for us and her job will be to provide us with the entrée needed to submit the treatment and script to various studios and production companies. Thankfully, our partner has numerous contacts that he can direct her to and we're hoping their combined networking will result in some positive interest.

 

Along that line of thought, it was just announced that the City of Philadelphia has named a new Fire Commissioner, who will assume office in the near future. All of us at Dalmatian Productions, Inc. and Cause & Origin, LLC want to thank outgoing Commissioner Sawyer for his leadership of this great department and his eager interest in working with us on the show. We just hope he'll pass his recommendation on to his replacement.

 

Finally, some of you may have heard about the weird weather up in the Greater Boston area last week. I did. That's because I was frickin' in the middle of it!! Here it was, April 3rd and snow was pummeling us, along with winds reaching 40-50 mph! The next day, April 4th was to be opening day at Fenway Park for the Red Sox! No frickin' way! We were hit with a second snow storm that dropped another 3-4 inches and the game had to be postponed!

 

Boston - Strong!!! You got to love it!

Now - Stay Safe and Let's Make Sure Everyone Goes Home!

 



 

 



Seperation Anxiety??

A strange title for a blog about firefighting, eh? Read on and let's see if some of you will know what I'm talking about.

First though, we do need to give you a reminder to please visit our Amazon Studios Profile Page. There, you can read all about us and the show and most importantly, leave your comments and a 1-to-5 star rating. Your comments can make the difference if Amazon will pick up the show! Thanks!

"Now, back to our program..." 

I've been out of active firefighting since 1985, after starting in 1977. That means that I've been out for a long, long time. I left for two reasons:

1. My injured knee (after three surgeries since 1978 at that time) prevented me from being on the front line. I was "reduced" to handling video for the department on drills and calls, a town Fire Marshall and a member of our Fire-Police unit. I truly enjoyed all three!

2. We were relocating to South Florida in the City of Hollywood, which has a career department. There were still a few volunteer departments, but none of them close enough for me to be an active member of any type. 

At the start, it wasn't too bad. We had never lived in Florida before and I was in a new job. The first few months kept me busy and focused, though maybe not one hundred percent.  You see, I was still keeping a BLS jump kit in my car, just as I had for the previous eight years. And for some reason, I wound up showing up at a bad scene right on time and was able to render emergency care until first responders arrived. And after a few months, when life had settled down, I started missing the "Red Devil."

I've often used (or overused) the old saying, "You can take the boy out of the firehouse, but you can't take the firehouse out of the boy!" And I use it because it's true for a lot of us. I miss being a firefighter, being an EMT, being a first responder. I miss the camaraderie, the joking around, the practice, the learning and the excitement of the response. 

If you're still young and active, skip this next paragraph! If not...read on!

Now, you....yes YOU! Get up and walk over to the nearest mirror. Look at the person in the mirror. Watch carefully as he/she looks back at you. Now ask the image, "Do I miss the old days or have I put it all behind me?" So, what was the answer? I know what it was and what it will continue to be. The answer is, "Yes!" 

What to do about it, is the next question. I can't answer that for you, but I can tell you what I've done. And when you finish reading this post, go back through this blog and read the earlier posts. I, along with my best friend (whom I had met at the first fire department where we volunteered in NC) decided the fire service deserved to be on television. We started our company, Dalmatian Productions, Inc., with but one aim, to create a reality show about America's Heroes: The Men & Women of Fire/Rescue. Catchy phrase, huh? Good. That was actually the name of our first show. Along with our two additional partners, Tom and Jesse, we've all kept this goal in mind ever since then. And though we've had to let go of the "reality" aspect, we're still working hard to bring a fire show, a damned good fire show to TV.

But that's not all I've done to "feed the beast." For example, in every city I visit I attempt to visit at least one firehouse. I stop in, say hello and chew the fat for a short while. It brings back the good feelings. I feel like "one of the gang" again. 

And to really drive the stake in deep, I did something much worse, I wrote a book about my first four years in fire-rescue. I'm basically finished with the writing and now in the process of editing. I've included a lot of the experiences I had there, the good calls, the ones that sucked, the dangerous calls and the fun times in the firehouse. 

The funny thing about editing what you've written is that your forced to re-read it over and over again, correcting errors, adding missing words.....and reliving all the stories all over again. And again. And again.

And it's through this exercise that I've come to the conclusion that there's absolutely nothing wrong with how I feel....with how you feel, if you're in the same position I've been in. You know, we're very lucky to have done what we did and what we loved. 

Stay Safe and Remember, Every One Goes Home!

 

 

The Steps to Help Get "CAUSE & ORIGIN" On Amazon!

This is the procedure to get to Amazon Studios to help promote "CAUSE & ORIGIN" as a TV show through Amazon:
(p.s. If you don't have an Amazon ID, you can register for one absolutely free on the Studios' home page! Thanks)

Here’s how to get to the site:

1. Click on this address: http://studios.amazon.com
2. Log in using your normal Amazon account credentials.
3. Click on the “magnifying glass” icon on the top right corner of the page.
4. When the search box opens, type in, “Cause & Origin”
5. It will appear in the search box as, “Cause & Origin” Steven’s Project – SELECT THAT!
6. It will bring you to our (my) page. Scroll down and you’ll find the “Creative Notes” and the “Logline,” which is a brief description.
7. To read the script, click on the initials, “PDF” next to a blue & white button that says, “ADD COVER IMAGE.”
8. When you’re done, it will bring you back to the main page and you can vote the number of stars and leave comments. You can also choose to follow our developments by clicking on the “Follow” icon.
9. Thank You Very Much!